The origin of "Brandenburg"
The experience of the German general Paul von Lettov-Forbeck, received by him in the First World War in the East African theater of operations, proved that in the conditions of modern war, the tactics of sabotage and partisan actions can bring very tangible success both morally and materially. However, his views, reflecting the objective necessity of that time, clearly contradicted the ideas of the traditional Prussian military school. At the same time, the position of General von Lettov-Forbeck aroused sympathy among a number of progressive-minded German officers who served under his command in Africa. One of them was a prominent representative of the army aristocracy, Theodor von Hippel, who for the first time officially announced the need to create a special sabotage unit in the German army. According to his idea, this unit was to carry out its actions deep behind enemy lines, causing damage to him by destroying his rear communications and strategically important objects. In parallel with this, it was supposed to carry out reconnaissance functions, as well as undermine the morale of the enemy, using the tactics of sabotage and sabotage. Faced with a lack of understanding and complete disinterest of the military officials of the Reichswehr, von Hippel addressed his proposal personally to Admiral Canaris, the head of German intelligence - the Abwehr. The admiral, distinguished by his lively mind and a penchant for various innovations, assigned von Hippel to the 2nd department of the Abwehr, specializing in reconnaissance and sabotage operations.
The Ebbinghaus battalion was the first unit formed according to the project of Theodor von Hippel. The basis of its personnel was ethnic Germans who lived in Poland and were fluent in Polish. During the hostilities in Poland, the battalion justified all the hopes placed on it. Its fighters actively helped advance the German troops, spreading panic in the Polish rear, seizing or destroying vital communications - bridges, railway stations, etc. Despite the obvious successes of Ebbinghaus, immediately after the occupation of Poland by the Wehrmacht, the battalion was disbanded, but on October 25, 1939, Admiral Canaris instructed Theodor von Hippel to form a new unit on its base, called the 800th Special Purpose Training and Construction Company ". The company was quickly replenished with volunteers - ethnic Germans from around the world. On December 15, 1939, it was transformed into a battalion with permanent deployment in Brandenburg an der Havel. The motto of the battalion was a phrase that accurately characterizes the universal essence of the unit: "For Brandenburg, all roads are good!" Initially, the battalion consisted of parachute and motorcycle platoons, as well as four companies organized along ethnic lines: 1st company - Russian and Baltic Germans; 2nd company - British and African Germans; 3rd company - Sudeten and Yugoslav Germans; 4th company - Polish Germans.
As the number of the battalion's personnel gradually increased, new structural units were formed in it, including not only from Germans, but also from representatives of other nationalities (Ukrainians, Hindus, Arabs, etc.).
Preparation, tactics and structure of "Brandenburg"
The battalion companies underwent enhanced special training in the town of Kventsgut on Kwentssee. The main disciplines were subversive engineering and individual tactics. In the town of Kventzgut, in addition to the barracks and the training building, there was a shooting range and an engineer-technical range. Parts of all kinds of real objects were installed on it - bridges, crossings, highway sections, etc. Much attention was paid to the practice of an inconspicuous, secretive approach to the object, silent removal of posts, as well as the installation of demolition devices and mining. The Brandenburg fighters studied foreign languages, parachute jumping technique, landing on the coast, movement over rough terrain (including skiing). They were also trained to conduct hostilities in difficult weather conditions and at night, were well acquainted with various types of small arms and military equipment. The main task of the "Brandenburgers" was to achieve the effect of surprise by camouflaging and misleading the enemy, which was to be used by the German troops following them. At the same time, surprise was of a tactical and sometimes operational-strategic nature. The use of the Brandenburg was so varied that it encompassed all conceivable forms and methods inherent in reconnaissance and sabotage operations with full or partial camouflage. In partial camouflage, characteristic parts of the enemy's clothing and weapons were used. When fire was opened, these attributes had to be dropped, which fully corresponded to the laws of warfare. Full camouflage was needed in order to cause the enemy to panic by shooting "their troops" and due to this to quickly complete the task. Such hostilities were carried out outside the laws and customs of war. The number of "Brandenburg" units varied depending on the nature of the planned operation - it could be a group of saboteurs from 5 to 12 people, and whole companies attached to the armies.
Participation of "Brandenburg" in hostilities
Benelux countries, France. In early 1940, the Abwehr was instructed, in accordance with the general plan of the occupation of Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg, to prepare measures that would allow using military tricks to seize the most important road and rail bridges over the Meuse River at Maastricht and Gennep. Only under this condition could German troops quickly reach the fortified Peel line in Holland, and later unblock their parachute landings dropped at Rotterdam. The action with the capture of bridges across the Meuse near Maastricht was carried out by a volunteer unit prepared by the Abwehr center in Breslau. In the early morning of May 10, 1940, the advance detachment, which was assigned to the Brandenburg saboteurs, dressed in Dutch uniforms, rode out on bicycles in the direction of Maastricht. During a military clash with the Dutch border guards, part of the group (including its commander Lieutenant Hocke) was destroyed, and all three bridges across the Meuse were blown up, as the saboteurs did not manage to clear them. However, the action near Gennep was a success. The bridge over the Meuse was captured by the force of one reconnaissance patrol from the 1st company of "Brandenburg", and while the stunned Dutch were recovering, German tanks were already moving across the bridge. The trick of the "Brandenburgers" was that the patrol included several "German prisoners of war" whom the patrol allegedly escorted to headquarters, and each "prisoner" had machine guns and grenades under his clothes. Dressed in the uniform of Dutch border guards, the "escorts" were represented by Abwehr agents working in Holland. Thus, it was at Gennep that the tactical interaction of Wehrmacht saboteurs and intelligence agents was first achieved. The 3rd company of "Brandenburg" was faced with the task of preventing the undermining of 24 strategic objects in Belgium. The divisions of the company stealthily approached the intended targets and attacked them. The enemy was so stunned that the Brandenburgers managed to save 18 of 24 objects. In the second phase of the Wehrmacht's Western campaign, one of the platoons of the 1st Brandenburg Company was deployed on June 19, 1940, on the Maginot Line in Upper Alsace. After the breakthrough of the forward detachments of the Germans through the fortified areas of Mattstal and Windstein, the platoon had to go to the oil fields near Peschelbronn and prevent them from being blown up. Thanks to the fast actions of the troops, the platoon managed to sneak up to the object unnoticed and seize it with a sudden blow. Busy with the final preparations for the explosion, the French sappers were taken by surprise and taken prisoner.
Norway. In May 1940, the German command, concerned about the concentration of the remnants of the defeated Norwegian army in the north of Norway, entrusted the Brandenburgers with a difficult and important task - to identify and destroy groups of Norwegian soldiers hiding in the northern regions of the country. A fighter squad (100 men in the form of Norwegian army soldiers) conducted a successful raid, which once again confirmed the unit's readiness to operate in all weather conditions and under all circumstances.
Yugoslavia, Greece. Immediately after the surrender of France, Captain von Hippel proposed to the chief of the Abwehr to send him with three strike teams by air to the Cyrenaica area with the task of blowing up several locks of the Suez Canal. He had enough Arab volunteers for this. Canaris rejected this offer because it needed approval from the Italian leadership, and Hitler at that time had completely different strategic plans. The successes of Brandenburg units in the Western campaign contributed to the fact that the Wehrmacht command had a growing interest in the development of this special type of troops. The battalion was reinforced and on October 12, 1940 it was turned into the "800th Special Purpose Training and Construction Regiment". Along with the increase in the number of personnel, two new units were formed in the regiment, specializing in African and Middle Eastern operations - the "coastal saboteur group" and the "tropical command". The 1st Battalion of the new regiment remained under the command of Captain von Hippel in the former barracks of the Reichswehr artillery regiment on the outskirts of Brandenburg. The headquarters of the regiment was also located there, until it was transferred to Berlin. The 2nd Battalion, led by Captain Jacobi, was stationed at Unterwaltersdorf near Vienna, and the 3rd Battalion (commanded by Captain Rudlef) settled first in Aachen and then in Duren. The regiment was commanded by Major Kevisch, then Lieutenant Colonel von Lanzenauer came to replace him. The 1st Battalion was intended for the then only planned campaign in the East, the 2nd - for the Balkan theater of military operations, and the 3rd - for participation in the Sea Lion and Felix operations, which assumed the occupation of England and Gibraltar, but never happened.
In April 1941, German troops invaded Greece and Yugoslavia. According to the plans of the command of the Wehrmacht, the soldiers of the 2nd battalion "Brandenburg" had to capture a number of key facilities on the Danube. In parallel with this, they were supposed to coordinate the actions of the advancing German units and carry out reconnaissance of enemy territory. Once again, the Brandenburgers coped with the tasks assigned to them brilliantly. For example, in Greece on April 27, 1941, a group of saboteurs "Brandenburg" was the first to enter Athens, secured the most important city objects and raised German flags over the buildings of the Athenian government and police department.
SOVIET UNION. In the summer of 1941, when the German Army Group North was advancing in Latvia, one of the Brandenburg units captured the bridge across the Western Dvina (Daugava) and prevented it from being blown up. The soldiers of this group were disguised as wounded Red Army soldiers and drove up to the bridge together with a detachment of retreating Soviet troops. Having reached the bridge, they suddenly attacked its guards and took possession of it within a few minutes. Thanks to this, the advance of German troops to Riga was carried out quickly and practically without losses.
When attacking Lvov on the night of June 29, 1941, the role of the vanguard was played by the battalion of Ukrainian nationalists "Nachtigall", which operated as part of the "Brandenburg" regiment. The main task facing the battalion was to make its way to the city center as quickly as possible and capture its main transport and economic facilities - a power plant, a railway station and radio centers. The resistance of the Soviet troops was broken even on the outskirts of the city, and there were no serious battles in Lvov itself. As a result of the decisive well-coordinated actions of the "Brandenburgers" by 10 o'clock in the morning, all the planned objects were in the hands of the Germans. In the summer of 1941, the Brandenburg fighters captured and destroyed a number of strategically important objects on Soviet territory, and also carried out many local reconnaissance and sabotage operations in the Soviet rear. Later, the "group of coastal saboteurs" inflicted several very tangible blows on Soviet communications on the Black Sea, Azov and Baltic coasts. Night attacks by the Brandenburgers sowed panic in the Soviet rear and undermined the morale of the Red Army. In the subsequent years of the war, "Brandenburg", in addition to its main functions, was also engaged in conventional front-line reconnaissance and fighting partisans. One of the most notorious Brandenburg operations in the USSR was the famous Maykop operation, which can rightfully be considered a model for the actions of a reconnaissance and sabotage group deep behind enemy lines.
In July-August 1942, a group of "Brandenburgers" of 62 people under the command of Lieutenant von Felkersam received an order to capture Maykop, hold it until the main Wehrmacht units approached, and ensure the protection of equipment intended for oil production. Disguised as NKVD fighters, von Felkersam's saboteurs safely crossed the front line in Soviet army trucks captured earlier in battle. Once in Maikop, von Felkerzam introduced himself to the Soviet command as an NKVD officer and began to find out how well the defense of the city was organized. Having received the necessary information, he gave his soldiers the order to destroy the army telephone center in order to deprive the unit commanders of the opportunity to promptly contact the headquarters. Using his "official position" in combination with the lack of normal communications for the defenders, von Felkersam began to actively disseminate information that German motorized units had long gone to their rear, although in fact the advance detachments of the 13th Panzer Division were twenty kilometers away from Maykop. In an atmosphere of panic and chaos, the soldiers and officers of the Red Army began to hastily leave their positions. Thus, thanks to the decisiveness and professionalism of von Felkersam's people, by the evening of August 9, German troops managed to seize the city practically without a fight.
Africa. For a long time, the actions of the "Brandenburgers" in North Africa were limited due to the negative attitude towards them of General Erwin Rommel, who commanded the African corps of the Wehrmacht. However, soon, having become convinced of the effectiveness of similar raids by British commandos, he transferred the broadest powers in the field of reconnaissance and sabotage activities to the Brandenburg fighters. "Brandenburgers" did not remain in debt - during the entire North African campaign of 1940-1943. they were a headache for the allies. On account of the Brandenburg fighters numerous attacks on the supply lines of the 8th British Army (areas of the Sudan and the Gulf of Guinea), sabotage actions in North Africa, as well as reconnaissance of caravan routes (bypass routes through the desert) leading to the Nile Delta. Among other North African operations of "Brandenburg", the attack on Wadi el-Kibir deserves special attention, when on December 26, 1942, 30 "Brandenburgers" of Captain von Quenen under cover of night disembarked from longboats on the Tunisian coast, after which they captured and destroyed the railway bridge across Wadi al-Kibir. In February 1943, his assault detachment carried out an even more daring operation - it captured the well-fortified positions of the Americans near Sidi-Bow-Sid (Tunisia). As a result of von Quenen's swift attack, over 700 American soldiers were taken prisoner by the Germans.
On May 13, 1943, the German Army Group Africa surrendered, but the soldiers of the 1st Battalion of the 4th Brandenburg Regiment did not obey the order of surrender. Dispersed, they crossed the Mediterranean in small groups and safely reached southern Italy.
Middle East, Iran, Afghanistan, India. The use of long-range aviation and the German submarine fleet allowed the German command to carry out reconnaissance and sabotage operations thousands of kilometers from the borders of the Reich. It is quite natural that such actions were almost always entrusted to the Brandenburg fighters. When carrying out these operations, the main areas of activity of the "Brandenburgers" were the destruction of enemy communications, reconnaissance, organization of sabotage and anti-colonial uprisings. The latter function was a priority and was often implemented with the help of national formations in the Brandenburg structure. So, already at the end of 1940, the "Arab brigade" of the Brandenburg regiment was redeployed to the Middle East (to Lebanon, Syria and Iraq) to participate in hostilities against the British colonial troops. In Iraq, on May 11, 1941, the Brandenburgers blew up 2 gunboats and captured about 50 support ships, and on May 22 they inflicted serious damage on British troops on the Great Caravan Route from Damascus to Rutba. In late May, in the Tigris Valley, Brandenburg fighters ambushed regular British army units, killing about 100 enemy soldiers and officers. "Brandenburgers" also successfully operated in the territories of Iran, India and Afghanistan. In July 1941, their detachment, disguised as an expedition of epidemiologists identifying patients with leprosy, surveyed the border regions of Afghanistan for a month. The unit made contact with the local highlanders rebels and carried out a series of successful acts of sabotage against the British colonial forces.
The last chords of the "Brandenburg March"
By the end of 1942, under pressure from the situation on the fronts, the battalions of the regiment (and from December 1942 - divisions) "Brandenburg" were increasingly used for tactical reasons as ordinary infantry units. Frontline reconnaissance and anti-partisan raids became the daily work of the Brandenburgers. Sometimes the elite division of the German special forces had to act as a "fire brigade", covering critical sectors of the front. At the end of June 1943, the vast majority of the division's personnel were transferred to the Balkans to participate in operations against the partisans.
In May 1944, the Brandenburg assault units, together with SS paratroopers, participated in the attack on the headquarters of the Yugoslav Liberation Army. The headquarters was destroyed, but Tito (the leader of the Yugoslav partisans) managed to escape with great difficulty.
In July 1944, Admiral Canaris was arrested as one of the participants in the assassination attempt on Hitler. After the failure of the conspiracy and the subsequent defeat of the Abwehr for Brandenburg, dark days came. In September, on the personal orders of Hitler, the division was disbanded. All special forces subordinate to the Abwehr, in the fall of 1944, were consolidated into a motorized infantry division, which inherited the name "Brandenburg". About 1,800 of the most qualified fighters, not wanting to part with their dangerous but prestigious profession, joined Otto Skorzeny's SS fighter unit. Initially, the Brandenburg motorized infantry division fought against the partisans in the Balkans, and later it was included in the Great Germany division, in which it ended the war.
War after war
Almost all of the Brandenburg fighters, who escaped death in battle or imprisonment for war crimes, preferred service in all kinds of special units to a peaceful life. For a long time, the authorities of various states of the world concealed the fact that the German "volunteers" in the ranks of their armies belonged to the famous "Brandenburg". However, years passed, and the biographies of the ex-Brandenburgers supplemented the pages of military history. It turned out that after the Second World War, the "Brandenburgers" were part of the SAS of Great Britain, the French Foreign Legion, and special forces of the United States. For example, in the battle of Dien Bien Phu (spring 1954), where the French were opposed by numerous detachments of Vietnamese nationalists, the basis of the units of the French Foreign Legion were former SS troops and "Brandenburgers". Later, many ex-Brandenburgers moved to Africa, Asia and Latin America, becoming well-paid mercenaries, military instructors and advisers there. Thus, during the reign of Sukarno, the Indonesian security service was headed by a former Brandenburg fighter. The ex-Brandenburgers were military advisers to Mao Zedong and Moise Tshombe (Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo). In the mid-1950s, the fighters of the best special forces of Nazi Germany were invited by the Egyptian government as military advisers to organize the fight against Israel. Professionals of "Brandenburg" again bent over the maps of hostilities ...
Vyacheslav FARIS
Special Forces Brandenburg 800 photos, his fighters fought in most theaters of war. Completing missions from sabotage to full-scale amphibious assault.
Special Forces Brandenburg 800
Hauptmann von Hippel from the 11th department of the Abwehr, even before the war, proposed the creation of saboteur detachments for special operations. The first operations were carried out by temporary military formations recruited from the "pine forest", but already from November 1939 the detachment was trained in Brandenburg, and in December, the founder of the unit, von Hippel, was already in command of the battalion.
Captain Theodor von Hippel is an ardent supporter of small-scale warfare
Officially known as the 800th Special Training Battalion for Structures (Baulehrbataliion zbV 800), they were christened Brandenburgers, after the land where they were formed in 1939. The newly formed formation was subordinate to Admiral Canaris and the Abwehr.
Admiral Canaris and von Hippel founder of the Brandenburg Special Forces
Jablunka August 26, 1939 One of the first shares of the unit. A detachment of 70 Polish-speaking soldiers under the command of Lieutenant Al6recht Herzner captured a key railway junction in the Tatras. However, due to the radio silence for security reasons, they did not know that the invasion of Poland was delayed by four days, and when they were able to establish contact, they were ordered to sneak back across the border. Which they did.
Ebbinghaus battalion predecessor Brandenburg 1939 photo
Special Forces "Brandenburg" 800 photos, were at the forefront of German attacks in May 1940, so we see "". Their main task was to capture several bridges to ensure the advance of the Wehrmacht troops. Dressed in gray Danish uniforms and helmets, they deceived the forces defending objects, right up to the moment of the attack. Due to the secrecy of the unit, very few photos of its participants have survived, however, as well as themselves.
Brandenburg capture of a Dutch bunker Netherlands 1940
1940, the capture of an important strategic bridge over the Meuse River at Gennep was captured by special forces that had landed before the main invasion force. Subdivisions of the Abwehr for performing special operations were great masters of dressing up in enemy uniforms in extremely dangerous operations, since the capture of its member almost invariably meant being shot as a spy.
Patch of the elite Abwehr troops of the Brandenburg division
At the end of 1940 r. the growing division of "Branderburgers" received the designation - the 800th special training regiment "Brandenburg" (Lehr Regiment Branderburg zbV 800) with the newly entered parachute and naval battalions. The regiment was tasked with capturing strategic vital facilities during the invasion of the Balkans. Some of them seized a bridge over the Vardar River in Yugoslavia while others were guarding Romanian oil wells in Ploiesti: OKW feared they would become targets of Allied saboteurs.
chevron elite abwehr troops branch of Brandenburg photo
In 1940, expanding to a battalion, they had a significant layer of Volksdeutsch who spoke foreign languages. Special operations units such as the British SAS were created during the war for operations behind the front lines, but the "fire burger" was in operation from the first day of the war started by Hitler, that is, from 1939.
saboteurs from Brandenburg 800 the main task is to capture bridges to ensure the advance of the Wehrmacht troops
Pay attention to the uniform of the Brandenburg 800 special forces, it belongs to the type used in the self-propelled troops, see Combat uniform of anti-tank units and self-propelled guns of the Wehrmacht, badges on the chest of army paratroopers, and not like the SS troops who used the sign, Luftwaffe paratrooper. The difference is in the photo for clarity.
On the left is the qualification badge of the Wehrmacht paratrooper, on the right is the badge of the Luftwaffe paratrooper
The second half of the war led to the collapse of Brandenburg 800 (more on that later), after 43 years, recruitment of people came from all units of the German armed forces, and began to include elements of any weapons and combat uniforms.
Himmler decided to follow the example of the British SAS and create special combat units within the SS, he chose the fanatical Obersturm Fuhrer (Otto Skorzeny), not knowing how quickly these units would be in demand. The creation of the special unit was approved on Hitler's birthday in 1943, and it began training in Friedenthal that same year.
3rd Battalion 1st Brandenburg Regiment, Operation Leopard capture of the Greek island of Leros
Do not confuse NSspecial forces unit Brandenburg 800 photos
, the divisions performed completely different tasks. Yes, and the unit itself underwent significant changes during the war, expanded to a division, then was reorganized into a panzergrenadier unit as an ordinary motorized infantry (!), And was safely rolled out by the tracks of the anti-Hitler coalition tanks. I ran a little ahead.
Brandenburg's special-purpose recruiting methods clearly contradict those of Himmler's SS.
Instead of attracting ideological, real Aryans, "supermen". Brandenburg 800 was looking for the indigenous representatives of the peoples preparing for the seizure of countries, one way or another was involved in the service.
Brandenburg recruited personnel from local nationalities for covert operations in Africa
Slavs, Poles, Danes and others who want to fight for Germany. Each recruit had to speak at least one foreign language without an accent (however, many spoke more than one), had to know perfectly the customs and "slang" in the intended place of action.
Special units 287 and 288 were formed from the 11th company - Brandenburg. They began operations in North Africa in 1941, although Erwin Rommel did not approve of special forces. Among their planned operations were incitement to a nationalist insurrection in Cairo and the seizure of a bridgehead in the Suez Canal region.
Brandenburgers were at the forefront of the attack in Russia in 1941, capturing the bridge over the Dvina in Daugavpils and Lvov.
Brandenburg in Russian uniform in the rear on the eastern front
The operation in Latvia was considered hopeless. A group of "Brandenburgers" was thrown out by parachute behind the front line, disguised as Red Army soldiers. Fluent in Russian, they marched across the bridge, pretending to be part of the Red Army .........
Actions , in the next article.
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Connection "Brandenburg-800".
Organization and combat use on the territory of the USSR
In 1935, the chief of the Abwehr, Admiral V. Canaris, recruited captain von Himpel, a veteran of the colonial wars. The positive experience of "colonial" sabotage, used by the Germans in Tanganyika, convinced him of the possibility of successfully transferring African techniques to the European theater of military operations.
The first baptism of fire of German saboteurs was the fighting on the Polish border in September 1939. The Ebinghaus battle groups, which consisted of German saboteurs and soldiers of the German-Sudeten Volunteer Corps, attempted to seize mines and factories in the border zone, but they were all repulsed by parts of the Polish army and the local population. During the fighting, the militants lost more than half of their strength. The saboteurs captured a tunnel through the high-mountainous Yablunkovsky pass and held them, despite the attacks of the Polish forces. After receiving the order to withdraw, the saboteurs blew up the entrance to the tunnel and retreated. Tunnel recapture was also successful. In addition to him, the industrial center of Katowice was captured by saboteurs.
The personnel fired upon in the first battles served as the basis for the deployment of the "Training and Construction Company of the Central Bank of the Baltic Fleet 800" in the town of Sliach (Czechoslovakia). Subsequently, the company was deployed to a battalion stationed in the city of Brandenburg, under the command of Major von Himpel. In the spring of 1940, the battalion was reorganized into a regiment called Brandenburg-800. In November 1942, a special-purpose division of the same name was formed on the basis of the regiment under the command of Major General Alexander von Pfulstein. It was this unit that was the main elite striking force of the German military intelligence and operated on the territory of many countries of the world, performing a variety of tasks.
The Brandenburg-800 regiment included the following units: a headquarters company, a communications company, a training camp, five four-company battalions and a training battalion. After the deployment of the division, instead of the training camp and training battalion, a training regiment and an "Alexander battalion" were created, and the battalions were respectively reorganized into the 801st, 802nd, 803rd, 804th and 805th regiments of the three-battalion composition. Subdivisions of the regiment, and later the Brandenburg-800 division, carried out sabotage and reconnaissance work on the instructions of the Abwehr and the military command in the rear of the Soviet troops and the armies of the anti-Hitler coalition allies.
In 1941, specialists from Brandenburg trained Ukrainian nationalist squads Roland, Nachtigall and a special unit Bergmann staffed by the natives of the Caucasus in the training camps Krinitsa, Dukla, Kamenitsa and Barvinek.
From the combat diary:
On July 15-17, 1941, soldiers of the 1st battalion "Brandenburg-800" and Ukrainians from the squad of Ukrainian nationalists "Nachtigall", dressed in Soviet military uniforms, attacked the headquarters of one of the Red Army units near Vinnitsa. The attackers suffered heavy casualties ...
In the first period of its existence, the unit was staffed mainly from Germans who spoke foreign languages, and Volksdeutsche. A prerequisite for admission to the ranks of this special forces was physical development, courage, the ability to quickly navigate the situation. Later, the units were replenished with volunteers - prisoners of war in England, France and other countries, as well as Russian white emigrants. After the outbreak of hostilities against the USSR, Brandenburg-800 began to recruit anti-Soviet citizens from among the defectors and prisoners of war. For the first time, this category of persons was recruited in November 1941 and sent for testing to a special officer camp - oflag 3A in the city of Luckenwald near Berlin. In the camp, they were indoctrinated and carefully checked through agents. Those who did not pass the screening returned back to the general camps, and the recruits were divided into teams and sent to various units of Brandenburg-800.
All newcomers took the oath and were sent to the headquarters company, the training battalion and the training camp of the regiment, and later to the "Alexander battalion" and the preparatory regiment of the division, where they received military and reconnaissance and sabotage training. Along with this, each battalion (after reorganization - a regiment) created its own preparatory camp, which was located near the headquarters of the unit.
All servicemen of "Brandenburg-800" had two soldier's books: one, for use at the front, was filled in with a fictitious name, the other - for the German command - a genuine one.
Before being thrown into the Soviet rear, the "Brandenburgs" were given Soviet military uniforms, corresponding weapons and fictitious documents. All groups operated under the guise of Soviet units and often penetrated the rear of the Red Army under the guise of wounded coming from the front line of the defense.
From the combat diary:
On the night of June 21-22, 1941, a group of saboteurs in Soviet military uniforms under the command of Lieutenant Kattwitz infiltrated Soviet territory to a depth of 20 kilometers. The goal of the group was to capture a strategic bridge over the Bobr River (a tributary of the Berezina). The group managed to capture and hold the bridge until their tanks arrived ...
Similar tasks were given to other groups of "Brandenburgs", which by that time consisted of half of the White emigre youth, Ukrainian, Baltic and Belarusian nationalists. The groups successfully conducted a number of sorties with the aim of disorganizing the near rear of the Soviet troops. The main stake was placed on the delivery of raid sabotage and reconnaissance groups. The personnel of these units were outfitted in the Soviet army uniform, the uniform of the NKVD units, police, railway workers. To make them more mobile, the agents were supplied with cars and motorcycles. The groups carried out sabotage, conducted reconnaissance in the location of Soviet troops, contributed to the creation of panic and seized strategic objects.
From the combat diary:
On June 25, 1941, 35 saboteurs were dropped by parachute near the Bogdanovo station (Belarus) for the subsequent capture and holding of two bridges of the Lida-Molodechno railway line. Due to heavy anti-aircraft fire, the plane was damaged, and the crew was forced to drop the group ahead of time. The group landed from a height of 50 meters - this was one of the first paratroopers' jumps from an ultra-low altitude, moreover, under the aimed fire of Soviet air defense systems. Despite such an unsuccessful start, the saboteurs managed to come close to the bridges and destroy their guards. The Germans did not assume that several Soviet tanks and an infantry company were located nearby. A fight broke out. The commander of the saboteurs Lieutenant Lex and four paratroopers were killed, 15 people were wounded, the rest of the group held out under fire for more than a day, until German motorcyclists broke through to them ...
... During the German offensive in the North Caucasus, 30 saboteurs in Soviet uniforms infiltrated the rear of the Soviet army and blew up a strategically important bridge in the Mineralnye Vody region in order to disrupt the organized withdrawal of Soviet troops. Another group captured the bridge near Pyatigorsk and held it until the approach of German tank units. The third group, using the same camouflage, penetrated into Maikop, ambushed the bridge and thwarted the planned withdrawal of Soviet units ...
The headquarters company of the compound was stationed in Brandenburg. In April 1940, its personnel consisted of 500 people, divided into groups: English, Russian, Romanian, African, Arabic, etc., depending on the agents' knowledge of the language and country. In each group, classes were conducted on the study of foreign languages, methods of reconnaissance and sabotage work, auto business, horse riding, swimming, boxing, jujitsu, radio and photography. The company was preparing agents to be sent to the USA, Great Britain, Iran, India, the USSR and other countries with sabotage, reconnaissance, counterintelligence missions, directed mainly against British intelligence. Agents were selected from the company to form other divisions of the regiment.
In August 1940, the company traveled to Belgium, to the town of Ost-Dinke near the city of Ostend, where it was preparing for the invasion of England. After returning, at the end of December 1940, it was disbanded, and its personnel was distributed to other divisions.
The regiment's training camp was organized in the spring of 1940 at the Kwenzsee estate near Brandenburg. It was disbanded at the end of 1942.
From the combat diary:
At the end of July 1941, saboteurs of the 1st battalion and the Estonian unit "Erna" are conducting successful hostilities to capture Soviet artillery batteries and a lighthouse on Ezel Island ...
The training battalion was created in April 1942 in the town of Regenwurm near the town of Meseritz. It had 20 companies in its composition. In addition to prisoners of war, they trained White emigres and Volksdeutsch. In June 1942, the entire personnel of the battalion was assigned to the Brandenburg-800 units.
The preparatory regiment was created and stationed from late 1942 to March 1945 in Brandenburg, then moved to the province of Schleswig-Holstein. The three above-mentioned divisions were actually reconnaissance and sabotage schools, in which agents were trained for subversive work in the rear of the armies hostile to Germany. The staff of the schools was staffed mainly by prisoners of war of the Soviet, British, American and French armies. All cadets wore German military uniforms and were routed into "national" platoons and companies.
The training course included: sabotage business, methods of conducting military and agent intelligence, topography, car-making, photography, drill and tactical training.
After completing the training course, all the cadets were assigned to the Brandenburg-800 units, from where they were sent on assignments in groups or alone.
1st Regiment (801st Regiment)
Battalion units (from 1942 - a regiment) were initially sent to carry out special missions to the Eastern Front, and later to fight the Yugoslav and Greek partisans.
From the combat diary:
In the summer of 1941, the saboteurs of the battalion under the command of Lieutenant Kattwitz, disguised in Soviet military uniforms, blew up the positions of the searchlight batteries at Cape Pekla, ensuring the passage of German and Romanian divisions from the Crimea to Taman through the Kerch Strait ...
The 2nd company of the battalion in the second half of 1942 operated in North Ossetia, near the village of Urukh. At the end of 1942, the 3rd company operated near Mozdok and near the village of Baksan in Kabarda. The 4th company at the end of 1942 was located near the farms of Russky and Grafsky in the North Caucasus.
From the combat diary:
On the night of July 24-25, 1942, during heavy fighting on the Don, a group from the 1st battalion led by Captain Grabert captured and blew up a 6-kilometer dam in the Don delta between Rostov and Bataysk ...
In August 1942, a group from the 8th company was transferred to the North Caucasus and blew up a bridge near Mineralnye Vody. At the same time, a group of Lieutenant Prokhazka, who died during the operation, seized a wooden bridge on the Belaya River near Maikop, which disorganized the actions of Soviet units ...
2nd Battalion (802th Regiment)
Subdivisions of this battalion (regiment) carried out special assignments in the territory of the North Caucasus.
In June 1942, the battalion through Odessa and Nikolaev arrived in the North Caucasus and in August - September 1942 was stationed in Maikop, later in the village of Novo-Ossetinskoe near Mozdok. From the beginning of 1943, the battalion was in Austria, and later returned to the North Caucasus.
During the battalion's stay in the North Caucasus, Captain Muller's Sonderkommando (40 people) was under its operational control. The team recruited agents in POW camps in the North Caucasus, in particular in Georgievsky, Prokhladnensky and Pyatigorsky. All recruits were sent to Germany for special training.
The battalion included the 5th - 8th companies, the regiment - the 1st and 2nd battalions.
The 5th company of the battalion in September - October 1942 operated in the area of the villages of Planovskoye, Elkhotovo and Digora on the territory of North Ossetia.
The 6th company was in the Crimea at the beginning of 1942, then in the Vienna region, and later in the city of Dieppe (France).
7th company in August - November 1942 - in the area of Maikop.
Since June 1941, the 8th company operated in the Tilsit area, later near Daugavpils, in July - November 1942 - in the village of Korman-Shindzikau in North Ossetia.
From the combat diary:
On June 28, 1941, soldiers of the company of Lieutenant Knack (died during the battle), dressed in the uniform of the Red Army, captured the bridge over the river. Dvina near Daugavpils, prevented its destruction and held until the arrival of reinforcements.
3rd Battalion (803rd Regiment)
The battalion (regiment) sent its units to the Eastern Front and to France to fight the French partisans.
The battalion included the 9th - 12th companies, the regiment - the 1st - 3rd battalions.
The 10th company of the battalion in 1942 operated near Novorossiysk.
In September 1942, an officer of the company, Ober-Lieutenant Neugebauer and translator Lev, recruited agents in the POW camps at the Crimean station and in Krasnodar. After recruiting, all agents were sent to the city of Duren.
From the combat diary:
The 9th company in October 1941 was thrown into the Soviet rear near Moscow with the task of capturing barriers and fortifications on one of the entrance roads to the capital. Almost all paratroopers were destroyed.
In January 1942, before the assault on the city of Demyansk, 200 "Brandenburgers" landed near the Bologoye railway junction and undermined sections of the railroad track on the Bologoye - Toropets and Bologoye - Staraya Russa directions. Two days later, units of the NKGB partially eliminated the saboteurs ...
March 1942. The 9th company begins to destroy the partisans in the area of Dorogobuzh and Smolensk, then it is transferred to Vyazma with a similar task ...
In the summer of 1942, the 11th company operated in the area of the city of Stalino, later near Mozdok.
In the summer of 1942, the 12th company was in the area of the city of Stalino, then in the village of Mamonovo, Kaluga region, in September 1942 it moved to the village of Frolovo, later to the village of M. Yanovichi, Vitebsk region.
The 1st battalion of the regiment in 1943 acted against partisans in the areas of Pustoshka, Vitebsk, Gorodok, Nevel, in the villages of Pleshki, Slobodka and Poddubye.
The 2nd battalion operated in France in the area of the cities of Malson and Navarro.
The 3rd battalion in 1943 operated in the Orel region, in the summer of 1944 - near the town of Turov in Polesie.
From the combat diary:
In August 1942, a special group of the Brandenburg compound under the command of Baron von Felkerzam in the form of NKGB fighters was thrown into the oil production area near the town of Maikop to seize oil refineries prepared for the explosion. The group was armed with silent firing devices, night vision and crossbows. The aircraft pilots thwarted the group's landing, and its members were scattered over an area of several kilometers at a considerable distance from the planned landing point. Landing on hilly and wooded terrain caused numerous injuries to the fighters. Those who remained in the ranks captured the plant and held it until the advance units broke through to them. The object was transferred under the protection of the commander of a tank battalion, but ... at night it was blown up by Soviet saboteurs ...
4th Battalion (804th Regiment)
Subdivisions of the battalion (regiment) carried out special operations in certain sectors of the North Caucasian and Karelian fronts and in Africa.
The headquarters was stationed in Hamburg, then in Brandenburg. The regiment commander is Major Heinz. The battalion included the 13th - 16th companies, the regiment - apart from the battalions, a special Lange command.
The 14th company was stationed in Baden (Austria) until the end of 1942, and later operated in the North Caucasus.
The 15th company operated in Africa, the 16th - against the troops of the Karelian Front.
From the combat diary:
In October 1943, officers of the NKGB of Leningrad liquidated the sabotage group of the Abwehr. Its leader, Chief Lieutenant von Strackmann, escapes from custody. A few days later, the State Security officers arrest him in the crypt of the city cemetery - one of the bases of the group ...
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In 1940, on the Abwehr's directive, the first sabotage division, Brandenburg 800, was created. It consisted only of people from those regions where it was planned to conduct sabotage activities. Daring operations behind enemy lines provided the German regular troops with a serious advantage.
History of creation
The father of the German sabotage unit is Lt. Col. von Hippel. During the First World War, he fought in Africa against the British as part of the German corps. Difficult natural conditions and the numerical superiority of British troops forced the Germans to use the tactics of "guerrilla warfare". The unpredictable and swift strikes of the mobile forces have proven to be very effective.
After the Nazis came to power, von Hippel, given his combat experience, is trying to promote the concept of sabotage units. His reports, however, were not received in any way by the military command. The only person concerned was Admiral Canaris, the head of German intelligence. He set the task of creating a special sabotage unit. The first detachments appeared by the end of the thirties. By 1940, a special regiment "Brandenburg" was formed, for conspiracy it was designated as a training regiment. In 1944, the regiment was reorganized into a division.
Special selection
The proposed work in the rear required special personnel. As a rule, Volksdeutsche - ethnic Germans who lived outside the territory of Germany, for example, in Romania or Poland - were selected for the fighting squad. In addition, the units included persons of other nationalities who approved the policy of the Reich. Such a policy provided the units with valuable personnel who, knowing the enemy, could freely operate in enemy territory. The morals in the unit also differed in a special way: the relationship between the servicemen was of a friendly nature, military greetings were replaced with the usual handshake, drill training was carried out only when the higher authorities visited the unit. And this was not an indulgence in the service, but a necessity. The "military clique" could jeopardize the saboteur's success, because he needed to merge with the crowd, and not trump military bearing. For "full immersion", in addition to combat skills, saboteurs studied the customs and legislation of the enemy countries.
Combat use
The main task of the Brandenburg saboteurs is to infiltrate the enemy's territory and, using the surprise factor, help the main forces of the German army. The saboteurs carried out their activities in many countries, for example, in Belgium, when the soldiers of the detachments, disguised as French soldiers, were able to conduct deep reconnaissance and prepare a bridgehead for capturing an important fortification - Fort Eben-Emael.
Soldier, tourist, refugee - saboteur group "Brandenburg" could be anyone. For example, during the attack on the USSR, saboteurs disguised as wounded Soviet soldiers drove up to the bridge across the western Dvina. The border guards calmly let all the vehicles of the saboteurs pass, but turned out to be completely unprepared for the attack. After a few minutes of the battle, the bridge was completely captured.
The loudest sabotage of the Brandenburg division remains the capture of Maikop in 1942. 62 saboteurs, disguised as NKVD fighters, arrived in the city in army trucks. The leader of the group of saboteurs introduced himself to the Soviet command as an NKVD officer and demanded to report on the state of the city's defense. Then, destroying the telephone center, the saboteurs deprived the Soviet units of communications. At the same time, information was spread that German troops were in the rear of the defenders of the city, although in reality the forward units were twenty kilometers from Maykop. The saboteurs brought panic into the ranks of the city's defenders, and the Red Army soldiers began to hastily leave their positions. As a result, the city was soon taken by the Nazis practically without a fight.
After the war
Almost all of the Brandenburg fighters, who escaped death in battle or imprisonment, preferred service in all kinds of special units to a peaceful life. The experience of saboteurs provided them with good conditions in special forces units around the world, including the British SAS and the American CIA. Many of the German saboteurs settled in African countries, taking on the role of professional mercenaries.
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